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Social Media Optimization: A Business Necessity, Not a Luxury

Did you know that within the social media space, there are conversations happening at this very moment that will define your brand? If you don’t capitalize on this vast and growing landscape, your competitors will, and you won’t like the outcome.

How to Evaluate Your Online Marketing Agency Partner

Business owners nowadays understand the importance of working with an online marketing consultant or agency. Owners won’t need to learn the technical aspects of search engine optimization (SEO), social media, web design, and other Internet marketing-related services. They can focus on the core business by employing the help of agencies. Now, the only problem is finding the right agency. But unfortunately, many business owners struggle in this aspect.

That’s why we came up with an infographic checklist that you can use to score and evaluate the agencies or consultants you are considering working with. Simply give your prospect agency partner one point for every question you answer with a “yes.” The more points, the better.

Many business owners today tend to ignore the importance of having a mobile friendly or “responsive” website. Without realizing it, they may be losing prospective leads and sales because their website is not designed to load properly on mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Here’s why you should not be one of them, and how you can make your website responsive:

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What is Mobile Responsive Web Design?

Your website needs to be mobile friendly, so it needs to be “mobile responsive.” Responsive design is when your website automatically responds or adjusts on the fly to the screen size of the device viewing it. In effect, be it a desktop, a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, your website will load properly.

Users Favor Mobile Friendly Sites

According to a study commissioned by Google, 74% of users are more likely to return to a mobile-friendly site. But that’s not all. Some 67% of users are more likely to buy if the site is mobile friendly. On the other hand, if your website is not friendly to mobile viewers, you could be in trouble. On the same study, it was found that 48% of users are “frustrated” and “annoyed” by a non-mobile-friendly website. Some 48% said a company “doesn’t care” about its business if its site is not mobile friendly. Some 52% of users are unlikely to engage with a business that has a non-mobile-friendly site.

More Mobile Devices Connected Online

You need a responsive site as more and more people are using mobile devices to browse online. First of all, ABI Research estimates that there will be 1.4 billion smartphones by the end of 2013. With the current population at 7 billion, that’s 1 smartphone for every 5 people. Meanwhile, comScore estimates that 28% of smartphone owners also own a tablet. Needless to say, mobile device ownership is up and will continue to rise in the future.

More and more people are also using these devices to connect to the Internet. Digital research firm, comScore estimates that 1 in every 3minutes spent on digital media is now driven by mobile views. The same company forecasts that by 2014, there will be more mobile Internet users than desktop users.

How We Can Help You

If your website is not mobile friendly, you won’t be able to take advantage of these trends. Worse, your customers will be looking to your competitors for the products and services you can provide. And all of this is because they bounced off your “frustrating” non-responsive website.

Whether they be mobile or desktop users, we’re here to help you attract those visitors, so you can turn them into leads and sales and dominate your competition. How?

Responsive Website Design

We’ll create a mobile responsive website for your business that automatically adjusts to the screen size of your viewers, allowing it to load perfectly on all devices: desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Your visitors won’t have to scroll up and down and zoom in and out all the time, leading to a great user experience. And because mobile users will soon outnumber desktop users soon, you’re investing in technology that’s here to stay. This is the last website you’ll need!

Custom Design

We’ll provide you with web design mockups and source relevant images that will reflect your brand and your business. You can also choose from our ready-made professional website themes.

Content-Driven CMS

We’ll install a WordPress content management system on your responsive site. This CMS has a simple interface so you can effortlessly upload company updates, photos, and other content.

Onsite Blog

We’ll also set up your onsite blog so you can reach out to your prospects and tell them about your products, services, and promotions. This will also help improve your business reputation and your online search rankings.

Other Web Design Services

Apart from responsive web design, we can also do a number of other website-related services for you, such as:

Email Installation and Configuration – We will install your Google business email using the domain name of your website. Each of the 10 users will have access to Google Mail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs.

Contact Forms – Don’t just settle for visits, convert your traffic to leads. We will install a fully functional basic contact form on your website so you can capture your visitors information like their name and email address. You can then use that information to qualify your target market and send them offers.

Website Backup, Migration, Installation – If something happens to your live website, you can easily restore it using the backup data. Data backups will offer benefits for you if you want to effectively store multiple copies of web-based data in a secure location. For migration, we will transfer all your integral website files to a new reliable host.

Get Free In-Depth Consultation

We’d like to know more about how we can help you. That’s why we offer our web design clients free in-depth consultations. Unlike other web design service providers, we sit down with our clients and discuss what their business is and who their targets are. We believe it’s important to understand how your business works so we’ll know exactly how to help you using our responsive web design services.

So go ahead and send us an email or give us a call now at (404) 954-2216 to learn more about how we can help you grow your customers and your business today.

Pay per Click Advertising: Why Businesses are Spending and Earning on Paid Search

Years ago, businesses realized that their prospects are online and that if they want to reach their target market, they need to have a website. But today, due to tougher competition, smarter business owners are realizing that having a website and optimizing it for search engines is no longer enough. They now know that pure “organic” or free traffic won’t keep the cash register ringing. They need pay per click or PPC advertising.

Unlike SEO, you will need to directly spend for traffic to implement PPC, which is also known as paid search. But there’s a reason why the big players are investing heavily in this channel – they are earning from it. Indeed, PPC can complement “organic” online marketing efforts. When you want instant, targeted traffic, paid search is the way to go.

See our Infographic:

What Marketers Get from PPC

A survey by marketing research firm MarketingSherpa showed that PPC accounts for 25% of online marketers’ budgets. Safe to say, the biggest players in the online paid advertising industry are getting something out of pay per click. Otherwise, they would not be allocating a chunk of their budget to this channel. The same survey showed that marketers primarily use PPC advertising to:

Increase web traffic – 63%

Generate more leads – 62%

Increase online sales revenue – 57%

Achieve or increase measurable ROI – 50%

From these figures, the benefits of PPC are apparent. Increasing a website’s traffic and leads are its main benefits. Much of this is due to PPC’s power to instantly display your ads on the first page of Google, making it an ideal choice for marketers who cannot wait for the results of search engine optimization or SEO to take effect. And because PPC’s return on investment (ROI) is measurable, it’s an attractive choice for businesses that need to track spending. It’s effective for businesses that have an online sales funnel ready.

Paid Search Fuels Google’s Growth

Google is a company that is built on advertising, especially PPC. The search engine displays advertisements on its web properties like Gmail and YouTube, as well as via millions of affiliate websites, collectively known as the Display Network. It also displays PPC ads on search results.
According to the latest figures released by Google, its 2012 revenue from advertising stood at $43.6 billion – a whopping 300% growth from 2003.

Behind Google’s revenue rise is paid search’s massive growth through the years. A survey by Kissmetrics, Magna Global, and efrontier showed that as of 2011, paid search is already a $34.9 billion industry worldwide. It’s bigger than radio advertising ($29.5 billion), outdoor advertising ($23.6 billion), and cinema advertising ($2.9 billion). It’s also closing in on TV advertising, bringing down the gap in spending from 112% in 2006 to only 24% in 2011.

Separate figures released by ZenithOptimedia, meanwhile, forecast that paid search will hit $57.78 million this year in the United States alone. The Magna Global Advertising Forecast estimated paid search growth for 2014 at 13%. PPC is indeed an industry that is growing.

Biggest PPC Players, Budgets Exposed

How much does the biggest PPC advertiser spend on paid search? WordStream estimates that in 2011, the IAC/InterActiveCorp spent $174.23 million on Google AdWords, making it the biggest PPC spender for that year. IAC owns a number of businesses, including popular websites Ask.com. Dictionary.com, and Vimeo. Retail giant Amazon.com is second with a budget of $118.50 million. Telecommunications provider AT&T completed the top three after spending $115.56 million.

Can Your Small Company Compete?

Your marketing budget will be humbled by those of big dogs like Amazon, eBay, and State Farm. Does this mean small businesses cannot and should not try paid search? Is PPC an advertising platform where only the wealthiest can compete? What about small and medium-sized businesses like yours?

According to the Google Economic Impact Report, the use of Google search and advertising tools in 2012 resulted in $94 billion worth of economic activity for 1.9 million businesses across the U.S. This simply shows that the benefits of pay per click advertising are not limited to the big corporations. That “1.9 million” figure includes small business and massive enterprises. This means even smaller players can use PPC advertising to instantly land on the first page of Google and reach a targeted audience.

Options for Professionals, Small Businesses

Google AdWords is still the best platform to advertise with. According to estimates by eMarketer, Google holds a 73.8% share of U.S. search ad revenues. That share is expected to grow to 74.4% this year and to 75.7% by 2015. Google also reports that AdWords advertisers typically gain a $2 revenue for every $1 they spend on the platform.

Your next best option would be Bing Ads, which has tie ups with Yahoo and other partners. Together, this group represents a total search engine market share of 30%, or 6 billion searches conducted every month, according to comScore. This network reaches 162 million unique searchers.

But here’s some advice before you proceed: while in general, PPC can be beneficial to businesses both small and huge, you should never easily entrust your marketing budget to any agency. Be sure to get to know the agency first, ideally through free consultation or meeting, to ensure that you get your money’s worth. Trust an agency that understands your needs and your business goals. That’s the only way to earn profits when spending on PPC.

We can help you get instant, targeted traffic via paid search. Call us now at (404) 954-2216 or send us an email so we can schedule your free in-depth consultation on PPC advertising.

Is Your Local Business Invisible Online? Discover Local Buzz!

More and more consumers are using the Internet to search for products and services in their area. Sadly, local businesses are struggling to keep up with the trend. They are finding it more and more difficult to stay visible to potential customers online.

On the other hand, a select few local businesses are thriving. They are dominating local listings and enticing prospects to come and visit the shop. Want to dominate your local area for your products and services, too? Discover how you can thrive locally with the help of optimized local listings, customer ratings and reviews, check-ins, and maps – otherwise known as “local buzz.”

Why is Social Media Optimization Essential to Your Success? [Infographic]

Social media optimization is a marketing strategy that’s simply too important to ignore. Social networks are growing steadily and they are providing small businesses an opportunity to reach out to a bigger audience. In today’s online world, you would need to be thriving socially if you want your business to get more customers and crush your competition. Not convinced with the power of social media?

How to Evaluate Your Online Marketing Agency Partner

Business owners nowadays understand the importance of working with an online marketing consultant or agency. Owners won’t need to learn the technical aspects of search engine optimization (SEO), social media, web design, and other Internet marketing-related services. They can focus on the core business by employing the help of agencies. Now, the only problem is finding the right agency. But unfortunately, many business owners struggle in this aspect.

That’s why we came up with an infographic checklist that you can use to score and evaluate the agencies or consultants you are considering working with. Simply give your prospect agency partner one point for every question you answer with a “yes.” The more points, the better. Read more

Why We Are the Perfect SEO service Provider for Your Business

SEO service providers will almost always claim that they are the perfect solution to your online marketing problems. Frankly, we do too! But only because we know we really are. Here’s what sets us apart and why you should choose us.

Watch the video:

We understand the business side of SEO service. You’ll hear providers talk about SERPs, rankings, traffic, links, and other technical mumbo-jumbo. We have gone beyond this going to the next level because we know what you need. We know that what you need is a steady stream of loyal, paying customers who want to buy from you over and over again, and then refer your business to their friends. You need loyal followers who will visit your site every day, engage in your content, and share it with their network. That’s the focus of our SEO approach.

You need to ensure that your provider understands your business and your industry. After all, your provider will serve as your online machine. They must have you marketing objectives as the blueprint in their mind to ensure that every effort is working toward your business goals.

Your online marketing company should be capable of laying out the business plan to your online success. But in order to do that, they must intimately understand your business and your business plan.

We create quality content that speaks to your target audience. We focus on creating content that is valuable to your target market – not keyword-stuffed and unreadable articles! One type of content we produce is promotional-based content, which is targeted to your existing and potential customers. This content will contain anything from promos, coupons, sales, and current discounts you have to offer. We create blog posts that your prospects want to share with their friends. We create press releases, company updates, and industry news that make your prospects more interested in your products and services. We want your prospects to think positively of you. Custom quality content has a positive effect on audience attitude, says 90% of CMOs asked by the Custom Content Council.

We will build your Google+ authorship. Unlike other providers that use it solely as a social network, we utilize G+ to improve your overall SEO footprint. Google+ authorship stamps your content with Google+ markup, identifying you or an appointed person as the author or publisher of the content published on your website and blog. When we stamp Google authorship on a piece of content, you are given credit for it through Google’s eyes. And the accumulation of authorship credits can help you to rank higher in the search engines.

We Ensure Proper Website and URL Structuring

We optimize your pages, ensuring your site has the proper structure. A proper site and URL structure make users navigate and flow easily across your website. A faulty URL structure, on the other hand, confuses users and makes it difficult for search engine crawlers to index your pages and content. We’ll also carry out URL mapping to determine which pages should be optimized for what keyword.

We Optimize Your Search Engine Tags

These include your meta tags, allowing your site to better communicate with the search engines. We will optimize page titles, descriptions, and even alt texts for images. Tweaking your coding will enable search engines to index your pages faster and rank them higher for your chosen keywords.

We Utilize Social Media and Social Publication

When we publish new content on your blog or anywhere online, who knows about it? We make sure everyone knows about it! We make sure that when we publish content about you, everyone in your social world and beyond will know about it. We set up accounts for you in the top social media and social sharing sites, the top blogs, as well as the top press release sites. When we publish content, we let the world know through the accounts that we’ve established online for your company.

We Build and Attract Natural Links

Because of the high quality content we create, we are able to attract natural links. Authority sites are more likely to link back to your site, and therefore pass link juice to your pages. We carry out natural link building techniques that do not over optimize anchor texts or use any kind of black hat scheme that violates search engine guidelines. More quality links we build to your website, the higher your website will rank, the more visitors you will get. And of course, this will turn into more sales.

We offer an in-depth consultation, first and foremost. We are committed to help you become much more successful and for your business to grow. You will see this when you see us in action right at the very beginning. We offer you an in-depth consultation before asking you to avail of any of our services.

We want to thoroughly understand what your business is, who your target customers are, and how we can meet their needs. This way, we are aligned with your goals. We’ll propose ways on how we can help you based on the research we do and our free consultation with you.

We are here to help you grow your business. We have the know-how and experience in the SEO industry. We want to understand your business and your worries. We want to gain your trust by displaying our intelligence and show you performance through our professional execution.

If people think we are passionate about the marketing industry, they should see how passionate we are about our clients’ marketing. We want to be responsible for your success and help your company to grow.

You will never find this level of quality and commitment from other SEO providers in our price range.

So go ahead and Email Us or give us a call now at (404) 954-2216 to learn more about how we can help you grow your customers and your business today.